Chapter 2 summary

Chapter 2 Summary In the beginning of chapter 2 of Spradley’s, You Owe Yourself a Drunk, it talks about how many people went to jail for public drunkenness around the late 1960’s. It walks through the process of what will happen or what you can do if you went to jail for public drunkenness. The main character of this chapter is Mr. William R. Tanner. He is a 49-year-old Caucasian who has never been married. He was arrested nine times for public drunkenness, and served nearly two hundred days on the drunken charges. Throughout the chapter he talks about his experiences in jail and how he wants to change the law for public drunkenness. His experience was distinctive, but his story was common from any other man in the American society. It starts off with Tanner writing a letter to Jim explaining a small part of his background and his story about his experience with the law enforcement. As he was in jail he would write about what happened during the day. Most of the time he would talk about what he saw and heard in his cell, or when he goes to the Alcoholism Treatment Center. After he was released from the treatment center, he had to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every night. He couldn’t handle it so he had beer in the restroom and got drunk. Later, he realized that he should approach and find out what is lacking, what the person needs to help fill his needs. He believes that people can drink just to feel happy. So then Tanner wrote a Writ of Habeas Corpus to the Judge so he could explain the reason why people should not be arrest for being drunk under some circumstances. He feels that his rights may have been/are being abridged, infringed, or violated in the following instances, occasions, and particulars. The judge denied his writ and set his trial in Municipal Court. The judge said that his writ was premature and could only be submitted after I had been tried and found guilty. After that, Tanner went back to his drinking habits and got arrested again and was sent back to prison for being drunk in public. Instead of going to the Seattle treatment center because he dislikes it, he wanted to go to Minneapolis. By the end of this chapter, Tanner soon realized that his method to change the law for public drunkenness cannot be completed.